Sotomayor says she hopes Supreme Court will overturn presidential immunity decision

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said on Saturday that she hopes the court’s decision granting former presidents broad criminal immunity will be overturned, saying her colleagues have done some “crazy things.”

Appearing for a civics education talk at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate, the liberal justice also publicly commented for the first time on this week’s midterm contests, when Democrats swept control of both chambers of Congress.

“We saw the outpouring of voters in on Tuesday,” Sotomayor said, though she made no direct mention of the country’s leftward shift, only the turnout.

“I tell people all the time, there’s no excuse for not voting. There just isn’t. Apathy is not acceptable,” she added.

Those comments were interspersed in the justice’s hourlong appearance as part of a multi-day event at the first president’s estate celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary.

Sotomayor focused most of her remarks on the importance of civics education — she serves on the board of iCivics, the education group founded by the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor — but at times expressed concerns about the state of democracy. She said it would take “some hard work” for the country to get back on an “even keel.”

“There have been some systemic changes in my court’s jurisprudence in many areas of law,” Sotomayor said. “We’ll settle down, too. Not quite sure when. But we will. And a new order will be established that people will begin to understand.”

The justice specifically singled out the court’s 6-3 decision along ideological lines that former presidents enjoy at least presumptive immunity for their official acts. At the time, the justice wrote that it made President Trump and his successos a “king above the law.”

“I dissent a lot. I’m hoping that the court will take back some of the crazy things that it’s done. I’m only joking — maybe not,” Sotomayor told the crowd on Saturday.

“No, seriously,” she continued. “You know, I’ve spoken openly about this, there’s some opinions that I hope in my lifetime will get overturned. The immunity case is one of them.”